Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 53 (2022) 143–152

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Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhtm

Virtual tourism atmospheres: The effects of pleasure, arousal, and

dominance on the acceptance of virtual tourism
Li-Keng Cheng a, Hsien-Long Huang b, *
a
Department of Social and Regional Development, National Taipei University of Education, No.134, Sec. 2, Heping E. Rd., Da-an District, Taipei City, 106, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Business Management, Tatung University, No.40, Sec. 3, Zhongshan N. Rd., Taipei City, 104, Taiwan, ROC

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Few studies have explored the factors influencing continuous usage intention toward virtual tours, such as
Pleasure dominance, pleasure, and arousal. To address this research gap, this study constructed an integrated framework
Arousal and structural model based on the pleasure–arousal–dominance model to explore how certain factors (atmo­
Dominance
spheric and affective) affect consumers’ continuous usage intention and word-of-mouth communication related
Virtual tourism
Telepresence
to virtual tourism. This study examined the effects of ubiquity, telepresence, vividness, interactivity, and
background music–environment congruency on users’ feelings of pleasure, dominance, and arousal. The effects
of these factors on word of mouth and continuous usage intention were also examined. A questionnaire was
administered, and 509 valid questionnaire responses were used in the analysis; 63.5% of the respondents were
women, and the respondents’ mean age was 36.16 years. The overall fit of our structural model was acceptable,
and the Cronbach’s alpha values indicated adequate reliability. All the research hypotheses were supported,
revealing that each factor affects the virtual tourism experience. This study also revealed that telepresence and
vividness are related to pleasure derived from virtual tourism; this result is consistent with those of other studies.
Telepresence and vividness also affect word-of-mouth communication and continuous usage intention. Thus,
designers of virtual tours should pay particular attention to telepresence and vividness to ensure a positive virtual
tourism experience. Researchers should examine other factors that affect usage intention and consumers’
behavior.

1. Introduction museums such as the Louvre Museum, the British Museum, and the
Museum of Modern Art provide online platforms through which con­
At the beginning of 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic sumers can experience immersive virtual journeys at home by using VR
strongly affected the tourism industry. Virtual tourism has gradually technology such as PlayStation VR (Sony), Oculus (Meta), HTC Vive
become a substitute for international travel, forming a novel tourism (HTC), and Google Cardboard (Google).
model. According to the World Tourism Organization, due to the Between 2017 and 2020, virtual economic revenue from emotional
COVID-19 pandemic, revenue from global tourism in 2020 was 60%– VR tourism marketing increased from US$50,000,000 to US
80% lower than that in 2019. Virtual tourism represents a new hope for $1,000,000,000 (Talafubieke et al., 2021). Tourism offices and travel
the tourism industry, breaking the temporal and spatial limitations of businesses are increasingly using cutting-edge VR technology. For
traditional tourism and enabling consumers to experience traveling to example, Rendr developed the app Legendr to assist tourism organiza­
any destination at any time. Virtual tourism entails considerably less tions in improving their guests’ experience through VR and gamifica­
consumer expenditure than does traditional tourism. Because of the use tion. Numerous businesses offer custom virtual content production
of virtual reality (VR), virtual tourism is more convenient than tradi­ services (Earlymetrics.com, 2022). The tourism industry has adopted VR
tional tourism. Virtual tourism enables consumers to partake in various slowly but steadily. A 2019 report by Research and Markets predicted
immersive experiences and those with mobility impairment to enjoy that the tourism industry would grow through the adoption of virtual
tours that would otherwise be inaccessible through traditional tourism. tourism (Tourismteacher.com, 2019). Although virtual tourism allows
Additionally, various scenic areas in Switzerland and renowned tourists and service providers to transcend the temporal and spatial

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (L.-K. Cheng), [email protected] (H.-L. Huang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.10.002
Received 5 May 2022; Received in revised form 3 October 2022; Accepted 8 October 2022
Available online 22 October 2022
1447-6770/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of CAUTHE - COUNCIL FOR AUSTRALASIAN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY EDUCATION. All
rights reserved.
L.-K. Cheng and H.-L. Huang Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 53 (2022) 143–152

limitations in traditional tourism and is highly convenient, whether the effects of virtual tourism on customers’ online behavior; however,
consumers will adopt virtual tourism remains unknown because tourists few studies have investigated environmental cues in the context of vir­
differ in their affective experiences. tual tourism. The theoretical foundation of this study is environmental
Past studies on virtual tourism have mostly focused on its function­ psychology, in which atmospheres created by environmental cues are
ality and utility for consumers. Some researchers have the examined the considered to affect attitudes and intention. Mehrabian and Russell
effect of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on consumer (1974) proposed the PAD model and demonstrated that environmental
satisfaction (Singh & Srivastava, 2019). Few studies have explored the cues activate emotions, which affect attitude and intention. Table A2
affective factors that influence intention to use virtual tourism, such as summarizes some distinct studies about VR in tourism.
pleasure, arousal, and dominance. Factors related to affective experi­
ence strongly affect consumers’ usage intention. Studies have indicated 2.1. Pleasure–arousal–dominance model
that consumers’ perceived dominance, perceived pleasure, and
perceived arousal affect their willingness to use certain software appli­ Affect influences responses to and evaluations of consumption. Thus,
cations (Hsieh et al., 2021; Lee & Kim, 2019). consumers’ affective and recognitive responses are fundamental to
To address this research gap, this study proposes an integrated purchasing decisions (Koo & Lee, 2011). Several researchers have used
framework based on a pleasure–arousal–dominance (PAD) model to the PAD model, in which emotions are considered behavioral outcomes
explore how atmospheric and affective factors related to virtual tourism and a link between environment and personality.
affect consumers’ usage and word-of-mouth intention. For example, Perceived dominance is an individual’s perception of their ability to
studies have indicated that telepresence and vividness are atmospheric control or act freely under certain circumstances (Yani-de-Soriano &
cues that result in positive affective experiences for consumers. There­ Foxall, 2006). Consumers can seek information by visiting websites; this
fore, telepresence and vividness were included in the integrated model process leads to consumers perceiving that their behavior is fully
of this study (Hsieh et al., 2021; Loureiro et al., 2020). controllable and results in high perceived dominance (Menon & Kahn,
The largest difference between virtual tourism and physical tourism 2002). According to Koo and Lee (2011), dominance and control
is that in virtual tourism, consumers can experience tourism at any time. represent individuals’ perceptions of their direct control and influence.
For this reason, this study included ubiquity in the integrated model to Perceived arousal is an individual’s perception of stimuli, energy, or
explore its effect on consumers’ willingness to engage in virtual tourism excitement (Menon & Kahn, 2002). Studies have reported that arousal
(Cheng, Huang, & Lai, 2021, 2021b; Yung et al., 2021). Tourists often affects consumers’ evaluations of products (Di Muro & Murray, 2012).
prefer to control their itineraries. Virtual tourism that offers high levels Studies have also suggested that arousal affects message processing.
of interactivity can provide freedom and stimulation, which may affect High arousal can increase consumers’ attention and facilitate elabora­
consumers’ intention to use virtual tourism. In addition, in virtual tion during information processing (Martin, 2005). Researchers have
tourism, background music is used to improve the consumer’s experi­ noted that increases in arousal affect consumers’ responses to target
ence. An appropriate combination of background music and virtual stimuli; high arousal reduces consumers’ sensitivity to trivial, novel, and
tourism would enhance consumers’ affective experiences (Yalch & entertainment-related cues and helps them maintain rationality (Loe­
Spangenberg, 2000). For this reason, interactivity and background wenstein, 1994). Low arousal prompts consumers to explore trivial,
music congruency were included in the integrated model of this study. novel, and entertainment-related cues out of curiosity (Steenkamp &
The following research questions (RQs)guided this study: Baumgartner, 1992).
Perceived pleasure is an individual’s perception of happiness and
RQ1: How do consumers’ affective experiences affect dominance, satisfaction with a given environment. Pleasure is the most common
pleasure, and arousal? factor used to measure feelings toward environments. Studies have
RQ2: How do consumers’ dominance, pleasure, and arousal affect indicated that happiness may influence an individual’s behavior and
continuous usage intention and word of mouth in relation to virtual preferences (Menon & Kahn, 2002). Positive emotions increase will­
tourism? ingness to explore new possibilities, take risks, and generate creative
ideas. Positive emotions may also increase the desire to pursue novelty
This study makes two contributions to the research on virtual and stimulating goals by purchasing products (Koo & Lee, 2011).
tourism. First, to fill the gap in the research regarding the effect of af­ In virtual tourism, consumers can engage in virtual tours with their
fective experiences on consumers’ acceptance of virtual tourism, this laptops or mobile devices at any time. This creates a strong sense of
study examined the effects of ubiquity, telepresence, vividness, inter­ control and freedom, which increases perceived dominance in virtual
activity, and background music congruency on consumers’ dominance, tourism (Yani-de-Soriano & Foxall, 2006). In addition, virtual tourism
pleasure, and arousal. Second, this study assessed whether these factors features human–machine interaction and background music to suit each
affect both word of mouth and continuous usage intention through destination, which help consumers immerse themselves in virtual en­
dominance, pleasure, and arousal. vironments and increase arousal (De Vries et al., 2012). Virtual tourism
also offers high-definition images to entertain and stimulate consumers.
2. Literature review VR and augmented reality can be used to provide consumers with vivid
images and create a sense of presence and pleasure (Tafesse, 2016).
Various virtual technologies have been used to create simulated Attachment to VR increased the desire to travel to the locations in the in
tourism experiences and attract tourists (Zheng et al., 2021). With the VR tourism experience (Kim et al., 2020). This considerably increases
increasing use of virtual technology in theme parks, cultural sites, na­ the perceived control, pleasure, and arousal consumers experience
tional parks, art galleries, and other tourist destinations, virtual tourism during virtual tourism. This study derives a model from the PAD model
has increasingly attracted academic attention (Wei, 2019). Research has to explore the driving factors of perceived dominance, pleasure, and
explored ease of use, usefulness, fun, and other factors affecting cus­ arousal and explore the effects of atmospheric cues on intention to use
tomers’ acceptance of virtual tourism (El-Said & Aziz, 2021). However, virtual tourism.
empirical research on virtual tourism remains limited (Bogicevic et al.,
2019), and few studies have explored whether positive VR experiences 2.2. Antecedents of perceived dominance
increase consumers’ willingness to partake in virtual tourism. This study
uses the PAD model to explore how imagination affects consumers’ 2.2.1. Ubiquity
emotional responses and willingness to use virtual tourism. Ubiquity refers to accessibility at any time and place (Tojib & Tsar­
Studies have adopted the technology acceptance model to examine enko, 2012). Kim and Garrison (2009) investigated ubiquity in the

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ability of the Internet to provide uninterrupted connection and 2.4. Antecedents of perceived arousal
communication. The ubiquity of digital technology strongly affects
virtual tourism (Yung et al., 2021). A ubiquitous network comprises an 2.4.1. Interactivity
online environment, information devices, platform-based devices, and Rafaeli (1988) defined interactivity in the context of virtual envi­
information content. This structure enables tourists to experience virtual ronments as the ability to change the experience of the environment.
tourism at any time through their personal devices. Open information Interactivity can create mental imagery, which considerably affects
exchange and a shared online environment result in convenience and emotions in the virtual world (Loureiro et al., 2022). Some studies have
high efficiency and enhance virtual tourism because of the ubiquity of defined interactivity as the ability to adjust virtual environments
information (Cheng, Huang, & Lai, 2021; 2021b). Studies have reported (Spielmann & Mantonakis, 2018; Steuer, 1992). Thus, virtual tourism
that ubiquity results in perceived dominance in the Internet among experiences that enable users to alter their experiences can be consid­
consumers (Hsieh et al., 2021). ered interactive. Motor activity, muscular responses, and interaction
According to the literature, high ubiquity in virtual tourism enables with stimuli during the experiences can create arousal (Zajonc & Mar­
consumers to select the time and place of their travel, which enables kus, 1982). Therefore, interactivity in virtual tourism would result in
their strong control over virtual tourism. Therefore, ubiquity in virtual arousal.
tourism would increase perceived dominance. On this basis, the
H4. : Perceived interactivity positively affects perceived arousal.
following hypothesis was proposed:
H1. A positive relationship exists between perceived ubiquity and 2.4.2. Background music congruency
perceived dominance. Milliman (1986) revealed that fast music increases the speed with
which restaurant patrons dine and that slow music encourages patrons
2.3. Antecedents of perceived pleasure to remain in restaurants and increases dining expenditure. Studies have
reported that background music that matches a store’s atmospheres
2.3.1. Telepresence improve consumers’ evaluations of retail environments and their com­
Telepresence is a psychological status or a perception of being modities (Spangenberg et al., 2005). This also leads to positive percep­
physically present in a real environment through media (Ou et al., tions of the purchase experience among consumers (Mattila & Wirtz,
2014). Through virtual tourism, tourists can travel to various locations 2001). Upbeat music strengthens the positive association between
at different times (Loureiro et al., 2020). In online commercial activities, arousal and pleasure, and calm music strengthens the positive associa­
a strong sense of presence can help customers obtain information in real tion between presence and intention (Loureiro et al., 2021).
time, reduce uncertainty regarding products, and increase confidence Oakes (2007) conducted an empirical study on music congruency
their purchase decisions (Sun et al., 2019). Lombard and Ditton (1997) and revealed that high music–environment congruency in retail settings
suggested that telepresence resembles perceived immersion. Tele­ enhances consumers’ affective responses. Demoulin (2011) indicated
presence is created by an objective feeling of immersion in a virtual that perceived music congruency creates arousal through consumers’
environment. However, each individuals’ perception of a situation re­ affective responses to stimuli. According to the literature, customers
sults in different subjective experiences. Telepresence can result in experience a strong sense of perceived arousal when they hear back­
positive feelings such as enjoyment and pleasure, toward a virtual ground music congruent with their virtual tourism experience.
environment (Novak et al., 2000). Consumers’ perceived enjoyment
H5. Background music congruency positively affects perceived
strongly affects their experience of flow, which strongly affects their
arousal.
subjective well-being (Kim & Hall, 2019). Therefore, consumers
perceive more pleasure in virtual tourism experiences, which creates a
2.5. Outcomes of perceived pleasure, arousal, and dominance
strong sense of telepresence because it enables them to immerse them­
selves in the experience. On this basis, the following hypothesis was
2.5.1. Word of mouth
proposed:
Derbaix and Vanhamme (2003) noted that word of mouth is a
H2. Perceived telepresence positively affects perceived pleasure. channel of communication among consumers. Emotional experiences
during consumption can lead to word-of-mouth communication. High
2.3.2. Vividness involvement attracts consumers to a product and encourages them to
Vividness refers to vibrant sensory stimulation (Coyle & Thorson, share their feelings with others. Murray (1991) demonstrated that word
2001) and can apply to media that provide information. For example, of mouth is crucial to consumer markets and that consumers rely on it to
color images are more vivid than text, and animation is more vivid than reduce perceived risk and uncertainty regarding purchases. Therefore,
still images because of the contrast and changing colors. Videos create word of mouth strongly affects consumers’ short- and long-term per­
vividness through sound effects (Fortin & Dholakia, 2005). Coyle and spectives of stores and products, thereby affecting purchase decisions
Thorson (2001) reported that vividness on websites increases users’ (Xu et al., 2006).
perception of presence, and highly vivid websites result in more positive Numerous studies have explored the relationship between consumer
attitudes. De Vries et al. (2012) analyzed posts in Facebook communities emotions and word-of-mouth communication (White, 2010). Some have
and discovered that vividness resulted in positive attitudes and indicated that perceived pleasure increases consumers’ willingness to
encouraged members to like posts. Highly vivid virtual tourism experi­ share their experiences with others (Loureiro & Ribeiro, 2014). In
ences can be created using high-pixel images, which enhance users’ addition, one study revealed that perceived arousal strongly affects
experience of historical sites. Vivid imagery is crucial for tourists to intention to engage in word-of-mouth communication because con­
perceive virtual travel destinations as desirable (Zheng et al., 2021). One sumers often attempt to achieve emotional stability through communi­
study reported that consumers responded favorably to vivid posts cation with others (Ladhari, 2007). Another study reported that
(Tafesse, 2016). Therefore, consumers perceive more pleasure in highly perceived dominance is a positive emotion that can strengthen the ef­
vivid virtual tourism experiences because they create a strong sense of fects of word-of-mouth intention (White & Yu, 2005).
presence. On this basis, the following hypothesis was proposed: On the basis of the literature, a strong sense of control and autonomy,
that is, a sense of dominance, would increase consumers’ willingness
H3. Perceived vividness is positively related to perceived pleasure.
engage in word-of-mouth communication and share positive experi­
ences with others (White & Yu, 2005). A strong sense of pleasure in­
creases consumers’ willingness to share their positive emotions through

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word of mouth (Loureiro & Ribeiro, 2014). Similarly, a strong sense of 3. Method
arousal would encourage consumers to communicate with others and
achieve emotional stability, which increases willingness to engage in 3.1. Research framework
word-of-mouth communication (Ladhari, 2007). Accordingly, the
following hypotheses were proposed: This study investigates how ubiquity, telepresence, vividness, inter­
activity, and background music congruency affect dominance, pleasure,
H6a. : Perceived dominance positively affects word-of-mouth
and arousal. The effects of these factors on word of mouth and contin­
communication.
uous usage intention are also investigated. Fig. 1presents the research
H7a. : Perceived pleasure positively affects word-of-mouth framework.
communication.
3.2. Procedure
H8a. : Perceived arousal positively affects word-of-mouth
communication.
Nunnally and Bernstein (1967) indicated that structural equation
modeling requires at least ten times as many units of observation as
2.5.2. Continuous usage intention
indicators. Thus, this study requires a minimum sample size of 360
According to Mehrabian and Russell (1974), perceived dominance is
participants (10 participants × 36 indicators).
an individual’s perception of their control over environment and au­
In total, 576 questionnaires were distributed through the online
tonomy therein. One study suggested that a sense of control would affect
portal of a marketing research company website, and the respondents
behaviors such as purchase behavior (Song & Zahedi, 2005). A study on
received an honorarium (equivalent to US$1) for their participation.
online shopping indicated that strong perceived dominance reduced
Respondents were selected through convenience sampling.
uncertainty regarding products and increased satisfaction and usage
Participants were asked to log into the virtual tourism web appli­
intention (Weathers et al., 2007).
cation from Taiwan’s National Palace Museum (see Fig. 2). The partic­
Pleasure represents an individual’s level of happiness or satisfaction
ipants freely explored the numerous locations in the museum by using
with an environment. One study indicated that a strong sense of
their keyboard and mouse. They were asked to visit at least three
perceived pleasure and arousal in both online and offline consumption
exhibition rooms in the hall of the first floor to ensure that their visits
increased consumers’ purchase intention (Eroglu et al., 2001). In addi­
were not too short. A piece of Chinese-style music was played during the
tion, a study reported that the pleasure and arousal in a consumption
tour to test the effect of background music congruence on arousal.
environment increased consumers’ usage intention (Ha & Lennon,
After the participants used the application, ubiquity, telepresence,
2010).
vividness, interactivity, background music congruency, dominance,
When consumers perceive a strong sense of dominance, they com­
pleasure, arousal, word of mouth, and continuous usage intention were
plete tasks easily and derive a sense of achievement (Weathers et al.,
measured.
2007), which increases continuous usage intention. Thus, perceived
After we excluded invalid questionnaires, such as those that had
dominance would encourage consumers to consistently engage in virtual
invalid answers or did not satisfy the verification criteria, 509 (88%)
tourism. Pleasure and arousal from virtual tourism would create
valid questionnaires remained (63.5% of the respondents were women;
happiness and excitement for consumers, whose intention to use virtual
mean age: 36.16 years; age range: 18–68 years [standard deviation: 8.64
tourism would increase to maintain these emotions (Ha & Lennon,
years]; Table A1). The two verification questions were (1) “How many
2010). Accordingly, the following hypotheses were proposed:
minutes did you spend in the virtual tour of the National Palace
H6b. : Perceived dominance would positively affect continuous usage Museum?” and (2) “Which of the following is the theme of the exhibition
intention. in the main hall on the first floor of the National Palace Museum?”
Table 1 lists the results of the descriptive statistical analysis as well as
H7b. : Perceived pleasure would positively affect continuous usage
the means and standard deviations for all variables.
intention.
H8b. : Perceived arousal would positively affect continuous usage 3.3. Variable measurements
intention.
A 5-point Likert scale was used in the questionnaire to measure the
constructs. All measurements were adapted from other studies, and
translation and back-translation were used to ensure the measures were
adequately adapted across cultures when the questionnaire was

Fig. 1. Conceptual framework.

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Fig. 2. Virtual tour of National Palace Museum.

Table 1
Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations.
Construct M SD (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Ubiquity (1) 4.06 .60 (0.81)

Telepresence (2) 3.58 .68 0.32 (0.75)
Vividness (3) 3.75 .64 0.42 0.69 (0.78)
Interactivity (4) 3.83 .57 0.53 0.54 0.66 (0.73)
Background Music Congruency (5) 3.79 .68 0.34 0.39 0.43 0.57 (0.78)
Dominance (6) 3.93 .61 0.64 0.50 0.60 0.67 0.46 (0.74)
Pleasure (7) 3.72 .70 0.42 0.67 0.77 0.65 0.52 0.61 (0.82)
Arousal (8) 3.45 .78 0.20 0.57 0.57 0.61 0.50 0.44 0.65 (0.84)
Word of Mouth (9) 3.81 .71 0.42 0.59 0.62 0.65 0.56 0.61 0.73 0.59 (0.84)
Continuous usage intention (10) 3.80 .76 0.43 0.59 0.61 0.63 0.49 0.62 0.71 0.59 0.80 (0.89)

()reports the square root of AVE.

translated from English to Chinese (Nguyen et al., 2018). Table 2 lists correlated with the study variables; we used age as the marker variable
the measures. uji keterbacaan (Griffith & Lusch, 2007), and it was not significantly related to any of the
In this study, two methods were used to refine the questionnaire. variables in the model, except for ubiquity (0.12). Therefore, CMV was
First, three academic experts assessed the content validity of the first not a serious problem.
questionnaire. On the basis of their assessment and recommendations,
we revised ambiguous and redundant questions. Second, we conducted a 4. Results of analysis
pretest with 34 participants to ensure the readability and absence of
ambiguity in the questionnaire. All Cronbach’s α values for the di­ 4.1. Measurement model
mensions on the pretest were greater than 0.70. Ambiguous items were
adjusted to increase reliability and produce the final questionnaire. The appendix presents descriptive information regarding the par­
ticipants. We adopted the two-step procedure proposed by Anderson and
3.4. Control variables Gerbing (1988) to analyze the results. First, we analyzed the descriptive
statistics, verified the reliability of the data, and assessed the de­
This study controlled for gender, age, monthly income, and educa­ mographic profile of the sample. Second, the properties of the mea­
tion, which are associated with word of mouth and continuous usage surement scales were assessed for convergent and discriminant validity.
intention (Cheng, Huang, & Lai, 2021; 2021b). Subsequently, composite reliability was determined using confirmatory
factor analysis followed by structural equation modeling in AMOS (v.
21) to determine the path relationships among ubiquity, telepresence,
3.5. Common method bias detection
vividness, interactivity, background music congruency, dominance,
pleasure, arousal, word of mouth, and continuous usage intention. These
The questionnaire was designed using three approaches to prevent
steps constitute a reliable method of preventing interaction between the
common method variance. First, the items for each construct were
measurement model and structural model (Rather & Hollebeek, 2021;
answered by respondents from different sections. Second, the re­
Shahid & Paul, 2021).
spondents were informed that their answers would be anonymous and
The Cronbach’s α values for all constructs exceeded 0.70, indicating
that they could provide honest answers. The purpose of the study and its
adequate reliability (Cortina, 1993, Table 2). The estimated parameters
variables were not disclosed to the respondents to stave off any concerns
for standardized factor loading all exceeded the threshold value of 0.45
they may have (Podsakoff et al., 2003). For the posttest, this study
(Bentler & Wu, 1993). The average variance extracted (AVE) also
performed a Harman’s one-factor test to determine the validity of the
exceeded the threshold of 0.50 (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988), and the composite
measures (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). The results indicate that the
reliability values were higher than the 0.50 threshold (Hair et al., 2010).
maximum variance that can be explained by the first factor is 45.37%,
Therefore, the measurement model has acceptable convergent validity.
which is less than the required 50%. Given the presence of five factors
In discriminant validity tests, the square root of the AVE must be
with eigenvalues greater than 1, this study has no considerable common
higher than the correlation coefficient between the latent constructs in a
method variance.
model (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The square roots of the AVE for all
Third, we conducted the marker variable test introduced in Lindell
constructs are higher than the correlation coefficients between the
and Whitney (2003). A marker variable is a variable that is minimally

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Table 2 corresponding constructs (Table 1). Thus, the measurement model has
Measures and results of confirmatory factor analysis. acceptable discriminant validity and no multicollinearity problem
Measures SFL Source (Grewal et al., 2004). The measurement model has good fit [χ2/degrees
of freedom (d.f.) = 2.11, goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.89, normed fit
Ubiquity (Cronbach’s α = .85, CR = .85, AVE = Tojib and Tsarenko
.66) (2012) index (NFI) = 0.91, confirmatory fit index (CFI) = 0.95, and root mean
I can join a virtual tour at any time. 0.87 square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.05; Hair et al., 2010].
I can join a virtual tour from anywhere. 0.81
I can participate in a virtual tour when I need to. 0.76
Telepresence (Cronbach’s α = .83, CR = .83, AVE Cheng et al. (2014) 4.2. Structural model
= .56)
I forget about my immediate surroundings during 0.77 The overall fitness indices of the full model are acceptable (χ2/d.f. =
virtual tourism.
2.48, GFI = 0.85, NFI = 0.87, CFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.005; Hair et al.,
Virtual tourism often makes me forget where I am. 0.75
After I engage in virtual tourism, I feel like I have 0.65 2010). The GFI is also acceptable (>0.8; Hu & Bentler, 1998; Youn et al.,
returned from a journey to the real world. 2011).
Virtual tourism creates a new world that completely 0.81 The results support H1, suggesting that ubiquity positively affects
disappears after we have experienced it.
dominance (γ = 0.83, t = 16.33, p < .05). Telepresence and pleasure
Vividness (Cronbach’s α = .88, CR = .88, AVE = Yim et al. (2017)
.60) exhibit a positive relationship (γ = 0.29, t = 4.52, p < .05), supporting
The images in the virtual tourism world are clear. 0.77 H2. A positive relationship was observed between vividness and plea­
The scenery in the virtual tourism world is detailed. 0.83 sure (γ = 0.64, t = 9.58, p < .05), supporting H3. A significant rela­
The scenery in the virtual tourism world is concrete. 0.73 tionship was observed between interactivity and arousal (γ = .58, t =
The scenery in the virtual tourism world is vivid. 0.77
9.22, p < .05), supporting H4. Background music congruency affects
The scenery in the virtual tourism world is sharp. 0.78
Interactivity (Cronbach’s α = .82, CR = .82, AVE Yim et al. (2017) arousal (γ = 0.22, t = 3.89, p < .05), supporting H5. Dominance and
= .53) word of mouth are positively related (γ = 0.27, t = 6.94, p < .05),
I was in control of my movement through the virtual 0.77 supporting H6a. Dominance is related to continuous usage intention (γ
environment (website).
= 0.28, t = 7.12, p < .05), supporting H6b. Pleasure positively affects
I had some control over the landscapes I wanted to 0.66
see in the virtual experience.
word-of-mouth communication (γ = 0.52, t = 11.93, p < .05), sup­
I was in control over my location. 0.75 porting H7a. Pleasure and continuous usage intention are positively
The virtual tourism technology responded to my 0.73 related (γ = 0.48, t = 11.23, p < .05), supporting H7b. Arousal is posi­
needs quickly and efficiently. tively related to word-of-mouth communication (γ = 0.27, t = 6.58, p <
Background music congruency (Cronbach’s α = Walsh et al. (2011)
.05), supporting H8a. Arousal is significantly and positively related to
.80, CR = .82, AVE = .61)
The music suited the location well. 0.87 continuous usage intention (γ = 0.26, t = 6.35, p < .05), supporting H8b.
I was not surprised to hear this music at the location. 0.56 Table 3 presents the results of structural equation modeling (see Fig. 3).
This scene matched the music very well. 0.87
Dominance (Cronbach’s α = .83, CR = .83, AVE Hsieh et al. (2021)
5. Discussion
= .55)
I felt that I had a lot of control over my virtual 0.67
tourism experience. This study explored the effects of atmospheric elements of virtual
I could freely choose what I wanted to see in the 0.79 tourism on consumers’ willingness to continue using virtual tourism.
virtual environment.
COVID-19 has caused virtual tourism to develop rapidly. Most studies on
My actions determined my experience of the virtual 0.72
environment.
virtual tourism have adopted functional perspectives to examine
I controlled what happened in the virtual 0.78 continuance usage intention (Head & Ziolkowski, 2012). However, the
environment. effects of affective factors such as pleasure, arousal, and dominance on
Pleasure (Cronbach’s α = .89, CR = .89, AVE = Hsieh et al. (2021) intention to use virtual tourism were unclear, despite their importance
.68)
(Hsieh et al., 2021; Lee & Kim, 2019).
I felt happy during the virtual tourism experience. 0.84
I was pleased with the virtual tourism experience. 0.84 This study used the PAD model to examine the role of atmospherics
I was satisfied with the virtual tourism experience. 0.82
I felt hopeful during the virtual tourism experience. 0.79
Table 3
Arousal (Cronbach’s α = .88, CR = .88, AVE = Hsieh et al. (2021)
Structure parameters and hypotheses.
.71)
I feel excited. 0.80 Hypothesis S. E. t value
I feel enthusiastic. 0.90
H1. Ubiquity → Dominance 0.83 16.33**
I feel active. 0.83
H2. Telepresence → Pleasure 0.29 4.52**
Word of mouth (Cronbach’s α = .88, CR = .88, Xie and Peng (2009)
H3. Vividness → Pleasure 0.64 9.58**
AVE = .71)
H4. Interactivity → Arousal 0.58 9.22**
I would recommend virtual tourism to others. 0.81
H5. Background Music Congruency → Arousal Mouth 0.22 3.89**
I usually say positive things about virtual tourism to 0.87
H6a. Dominance → Word of Mouth 0.27 6.94**
others.
H6b. Dominance → Continuous usage intention 0.28 7.12**
I tell my friends and relatives to try virtual tourism. 0.86
H7a. Pleasure → Word of Mouth 0.52 11.93**
Continuous usage intention (Cronbach’s α = .92, Bhattacherjee
H7b. Pleasure → Continuous usage intention 0.27 6.58**
CR = .92, AVE = .80) (2001)
H8a. Arousal → Word of Mouth 0.48 11.23**
I intend to continue using virtual tourism. 0.88
H8b. Arousal → Continuous usage intention 0.26 6.35**
I intend to use virtual tourism more in the future. 0.90
Control variables
If possible, I would like to continue using virtual 0.90
Monthly Income →Word of Mouth 0.03 1.01
tourism.
Gender →Word of Mouth 0.03 0.99
All loadings are significant at a p value of < .001; SFL = standardized factor Age →Word of Mouth 0.02 0.58
loading; CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted. Education →Word of Mouth 0.04 1.12
Monthly Income → Continuous usage intention 0.00 0.11
Gender → Continuous usage intention − 0.01 − 0.29
Age → Continuous usage intention − 0.01 − 0.42
Education → Continuous usage intention 0.05 1.59

**p < .01.

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Fig. 3. Empirical results.

cue–induced emotions in behavioral outcomes in virtual tourism and to mouth and intention to use virtual tourism through perceived pleasure.
identify determinants of atmospheric cues in virtual tourism. Structural Finally, this study demonstrated that interactivity and background
equation modeling revealed that ubiquity in virtual tourism positively music congruency increase arousal and continuous usage intention and
affects perceived dominance, that telepresence and vividness positively thus encourage word of mouth. Word-of-mouth communication in­
affect perceived pleasure, and that interactivity and background music creases the popularity of virtual tourism (Maeng et al., 2020). Therefore,
congruency positively affect perceived arousal. This indicates that at­ it is a crucial factor determining the success of virtual tourism (Maeng
mospheric cues strongly affect affective factors, which is consistent with et al., 2020). However, researchers have not conducted a comprehen­
the results of other studies (Hsieh et al., 2021; Loureiro et al., 2020; sive, structured exploration of the factors that affect consumers’
Yalch & Spangenberg, 2000). Hence, H1–H5 were supported. continuous usage intention and willingness to recommend virtual
Perceived dominance, perceived pleasure, and perceived arousal tourism through word of mouth.
were significantly and positively correlated with word of mouth and
continuous usage intention. This result indicates that the atmospheric 5.2. Managerial contributions
cues affect word of mouth and continuous usage intention through af­
fective factors (perceived dominance, perceived pleasure, and perceived This study revealed that perceived ubiquity, telepresence, vividness,
arousal). Hence, H6–H8 were supported. This study also used gender, interactivity, and background music congruency increase consumers’
age, education level, and monthly income as control variables. All re­ willingness to use virtual tourism, which in turn increases their will­
lationships between the control and dependent variables (word of ingness to recommend virtual tourism through online word of mouth.
mouth and continuous usage intention) were nonsignificant. These results indicate how the emotions induced by atmospheric cues
virtual tourism result in positive outcomes, which has considerable
5.1. Theoretical contributions managerial implications.
First, marketers should strengthen consumers’ sense of dominance
Virtual tourism has garnered increasing attention from industry by increasing their sense of control. Companies designing virtual tours
professionals and academics. However, a comprehensive conceptual should also increase the ubiquity of virtual tourism by providing various
framework that describes the factors affecting consumers’ intention to applications that consumers can use at any time, thereby creating a
use virtual tourism is lacking (El-Manstrly et al., 2020). Studies on the sense of control and dominance. Second, marketers should ensure that
antecedents of virtual tourism have focused on perceived usefulness and consumers enjoy virtual tourism and thus increase pleasure by
perceived ease of use (Singh & Srivastava, 2019). However, virtual strengthening consumers’ sense of telepresence and increasing the
tourism differs from other forms of tourism. In addition to perceived vividness of virtual tourism. Companies can use specific colors, shapes,
usefulness and ease of use, the affective experience that virtual envi­ and high-resolution images to create positive emotions in consumers.
ronments create should be considered. However, few studies have Third, marketers should ensure that consumers experience arousal by
explored the effects of affective experiences created by atmospheric cues generating excitement and increasing interactivity and background
on intention to use virtual tourism (El-Manstrly et al., 2020; Singh & music congruency in virtual tourism. Marketers can also increase
Srivastava, 2019). To fill this gap in the research, we applied the PAD perceived interactivity among consumers by offering highly responsive
model and explored the effects of atmospheric cues and the resulting virtual tours. For example, tours can have consumers pick flowers or
affective experiences on intention to use virtual tourism (Mehrabian & jump into a lake and swim underwater. In addition, marketers should
Russell, 1974). use background music congruency to ensure consumers’ experience
Studies have indicated that the ubiquity of online applications affects arousal.
consumers’ continuous usage intention (Cheng, Huang, & Lai, 2021; Virtual tourism will continue to develop and expand the tourism
2021b). This study revealed that the ubiquity of virtual tourism affects industry. Breakthroughs and developments have resulted in immediate
consumers’ willingness to engage in word of mouth and the intention to applications and new trends in tourism. Despite the limitations of virtual
use virtual tourism through perceived dominance. We discovered that tourism, technology will continue to develop. Virtual tourism can
telepresence and vividness create perceived pleasure in virtual tourism. radically alter the management of tourists’ experiences and demands.
Several studies have reported that telepresence and vividness result in Advances in virtual technology can change investors and consumers’
perceived pleasure in virtual environments (Novak et al., 2000). Thus, perceptions and satisfy their changing needs.
the results of this study are consistent with those of others (Novak et al.,
2000). In addition, this study revealed that telepresence and vividness in
virtual tourism affect consumers’ willingness to engage in word of

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5.3. Limitations and future research use virtual tourism (Chang et al., 2016). Fourth, because this study used
a self-report questionnaire, consumers’ behavior was not evaluated
This study minimizes the possibility of bias and error in the research objectively. Future research should incorporate behavioral variables to
design and experimental validation. However, limitations remain. We explore consumers’ intention to use virtual tourism. Fifth, this study
adopt a cross-sectional design, which involves using consumers’ per­ used a virtual tourism web application, which is inferior to virtual re­
ceptions of virtual tourism on a survey as the basis for the inferences and ality devices in terms of capacity to simulate environments dynamically.
validation, that did not reveal variation in consumers’ attitudes toward Future research should conduct virtual tourism experiments with VR
virtual tourism over time. Future research could conduct longitudinal headsets to enhance the immersive effect. Sixth, this study only used one
research to resolve this problem. scenario (a virtual museum) to examine the research framework; studies
Second, this study only explores the effects of ubiquity, telepresence, should examine the framework by using other scenarios.
vividness, interactivity, and background music congruency on intention Finally, the participants were unbalanced in terms of gender, and
to use virtual tourism. However, several other factors can be explored. most were young. Although we use gender and age as control variables,
Future research could determine whether consumers’ creativity affects this imbalance may affect the results (Kemp et al., 2013).
their intention to use virtual tourism (Truong, 2013).
Third, this study only investigates ubiquity, telepresence, vividness,
interactivity, and background music congruency as antecedents. Future Declaration of competing interest
research can investigate several aspects related to dominance, pleasure,
and arousal, such as whether enjoyment affects pleasure and intention to The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Appendix
Table A1
Overview of participants

N 509
Age
Mean 36.2
Standard Deviation 8.6
15-30 27.9
31-40 43.6
41-50 24.4
51-60 3.1
over 60 1.0
Gender
Male 36.5%
Female 63.5%
Monthly Income (US dollars)
Above 2333 6.7%
2000–2333 4.3%
1667–2000 11.8%
1333–1667 18.9%
1000–1333 24.0%
667–1000 20.8%
Under 667 13.6%
Education
Junior high school 1.4%
Senior high school 13.8%
Undergraduate 71.1%
Graduated 13.7%

Table A2
Studies on VR in tourism and museums

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Disztinger et al. VR for travel planning 148 Linear regression Perceived immersion, interest, enjoyment, and usefulness
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Lee et al. (2020) Immersive virtual reality in museums 269 structural equation modeling Absorptive experiences influence immersive experiences,
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a museum.
Na critical review
(continued on next page)

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Table A2 (continued )
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